TREASURY

Pre-Budget Report

Ivan Henderson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to deliver his pre-Budget Report to the House.

Gordon Brown: On Wednesday 27 November.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

EU Enlargement

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) bilateral, and (b) multilateral aid she will continue to provide to EU candidate countries after accession; how much aid will be given; to which countries; and through which bodies.

Clare Short: My Department will not have any further responsibility for supporting newly acceding countries to the European Union after accession, either bilaterally or multilaterally.

Food Aid (Africa)

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the level of food security is in (a) Mozambique, (b) Angola, (c) Zambia, (d) Zimbabwe, (e) Malawi and (f) Swaziland; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: National Early Warning Units have estimated cereal requirements in all these countries, except Angola, for the marketing year April 2002 to March 2003. The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided estimates on import progress to 21 October 2002. National figures are detailed in the table.
	
		Metric tonnes 
		
			  Domestic cereal gap April 2002 to March 2003 Commercial and Government imports Food aid delivered Remaining cereal gap at 21 October 2002 
		
		
			 Mozambique 380,000 233,000 63,000 84,000 
			 Zambia 684,000 0 18,770 665,230 
			 Zimbabwe 1,654,000 410,000 84,853 1,159,147 
			 Malawi 277,000 194,000 149,008 +66,008 
			 Swaziland 121,000 28,000 4,000 88,200 
		
	
	Additional planned imports and pledged food aid will reduce the cereal gap further, but timing of these deliveries remains uncertain. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is beginning a further series of vulnerability assessments, which will provide revised figures for humanitarian assistance needs to the end of March 2003. These assessments will be available in mid-December. WFP's emergency operation for the southern Africa humanitarian crisis is now 50 per cent. funded, ensuring that its food pipeline to the most vulnerable populations is secure at least until the end of 2002. We continue to press other donors to respond effectively to the crisis, so that the food aid pipeline can be sustained until the next harvest in April 2003.
	The humanitarian situation in Angola is also very serious. Since the ceasefire, aid agencies have been able to reach many thousands more severely malnourished people, and WFP's caseload is expected to reach at least 1.9 million people by the end of the year. WFP's maize stocks for Angola are expected to run out in December unless donors act quickly to replenish the food pipeline. We are working closely with other donors and implementing partners to develop a consensus view on future needs in Angola, and remain at the forefront of diplomatic and political efforts to ensure that adequate levels of humanitarian assistance continue to be delivered.

Food Aid (Africa)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is being done to build food distribution networks in (a) Malawi, (b) Mozambique, (c) Zimbabwe, (d) Zambia, (e) Lesotho and (f) Swaziland.

Clare Short: WFP has a major role in the regional humanitarian assistance effort. In addition to supporting food procurement, transport and in-country distribution costs within our #18.25 million support for the new regional appeal, DFID has funded logistical experts in the WFP regional office in Johannesburg, and in Zimbabwe and Lesotho national offices to strengthen capacity to plan and manage supply and transport issues.
	DFID is active in each country to promote effective co-ordination between international, bilateral and non-governmental organisations to tackle operational constraints. Jointly with other donors, we have urged SADC and regional governments to reduce regulatory and administrative obstacles to food supply for humanitarian and private sector actors alike.

Adam Smith Institute

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many contracts her Department has had with the Adam Smith Institute over the last three years; and if she will break them down by (a) subject and (b) value.

Clare Short: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			 Project title Value (#) Country 
		
		
			 Support for capacity building in the Ministry of Finance and Central bank 1,229,655 Afghanistan 
			 Trade training for DFID staff(Bangkok 32,328 United Kingdom 
			 Trade training for DFID staff 20,075 United Kingdom 
			 Consultants for Standards, Technical Regulatory Barriers Programme 43,990 Global(2)  
			 Pilot training and capacity building in international waterhouse law 131,174 Kyrgyz Republic 
			 Trade enabling agreement (1) 0 Global(2)  
			 Communications film for Department of Disinvestments 89,500 India 
			 Support for public sector undertaking reforms and social safety net in Madhya Pradesh 80,000 India 
			 PSRC: water privatisation and regulatory study tour 54,924 Tanzania 
			 Conference on Disinvestment 70,000 India 
			 Russia trade policy project 1,199,041 Russia 
			 Lead adviser to Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC) 195,690 Tanzania 
			 Seminar on Export Credits and Developing Countries 101,035 United Kingdom 
			 Rehabilitation of cyclone damaged lift irrigation points in Orissa 622,736 India 
			 Initial support to the budgetary processes of the Government of Macedonia 13,630 Macedonia 
			 Medium term programme of Capacity Building for Public Utilities Regulatory Commission 636,900 Ghana 
			 UK-Ireland privatisation and regulation study tour 11,145 Tanzania 
			 Additional support to the Privatisation Board 106,241 Bangladesh 
			 Assistance to the Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department 1,482,776 West Bank and Gaza 
			 Technical assistance for public enterprise reform in Orissa 2,061,365 India 
			 Privatisation Agency support project consultancy 308,470 Zimbabwe 
		
	
	(1) This is an enabling agreement only, which allows small contracts for individual pieces of work to be set up as and when required. It therefore has no overall commitment.
	(2) Non Project specific

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

EU Aid

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts regarding the distribution of the EU overseas aid package.

Clare Short: I have been asked to reply.
	I discussed the performance of the EC development programmes with EU Development Ministers at the 30 May Development Council. We agreed that recent reforms had been welcome but that further significant improvement was needed to implement the agreed, poverty-focused Development Policy adopted by Ministers in November 2000. Since then the Development council has been abolished. I will meet EU Development Ministers again at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) on 18–19 November.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Assets Recovery Agency

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how much has been seized in Northern Ireland by the Assets Recovery Agency since its formation;
	(2)  how many people are employed by the Assets Recovery Agency in Northern Ireland;
	(3)  what the funding is for financial year 2002–03 of the Northern Ireland arm of the Assets Recovery Agency.

Bob Ainsworth: I have been asked to reply.
	I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.